Merchant fleet officer shortage imminent? 
The already existing shortage of officers to crew the global merchant fleet is getting worse. According to the latest manning annual review and forecast report published by the London (UK)-based shipping consultancy Drewry, the reduced attractiveness of a career at sea and... more
Smart Kenyans and Canadians
Transport Canada has approved the conversion of Dash 8-100/200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft into simplified package freighters in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 748 Air Services, a Kenyan provider of passenger and cargo services to humanitarian, natural resources and... more
Carrier reliability better than expected
In its latest global liner performance (GLP) report, the Copenhagen (Denmark)-based maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence lists the reliability figures of worldwide shipping for the month of April. According to this analysis, global schedule reliability declined marginally... more
"Warhorse Africa" ready for next "jump"
"Operation Warhorse", an initiative to develop a freight pipeline to bring vital medical supplies to South Africa utilising all-inclusive shared-space air charters, was launched last month as an initiative by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff)... more
Perils for crews and idle fleets
The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of ships lying idle, which has created a number of new challenges, as a new publication of the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (Agcs) shows. The difficulties include delays in servicing and inspections and a shortage of... more
Asian and African airports pave the "Runway to Extinction"
According to "Runway to Extinction", the most comprehensive assessment of wildlife trafficking in the air transport sector to date, published last month, by far most "trade lanes" pass through Asia and Africa. The reports builds on the previous Routes... more
Flexible cargo platform in the Indian Ocean
Since traffic restrictions were introduced exactly two months ago (27 March 2020), the airport of the French overseas department La Réunion has handled 1,400 t of air freight, two thirds of which were imports. Although these volumes are 60% lower than in the previous year, they... more
Container index takes a fall in April
The downturn had been expected. The container throughput of the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Shipping Economics (ISL) fell from 110.4 (corrected) to 108.9 in April, down 6.5% from the value of the same period last year. In the Chinese... more
Guinea Shipping Corporation names new executive chairman
Guinea Shipping Corporation (GSC) has appointed Bernt Meldgaard Christensen as the company's new executive chairman. Christensen has a wealth of experience in the maritime industry spanning more than 30 years and will be responsible for leading the new team. He succeeds his... more
Port of Casablanca shows resilience
Morocco's port of Casablanca has reported its throughput figures for April 2020, the first month under Covid-19 anti-pandemic conditions. Total traffic recorded at the end of the month was at almost 10.5 million t, a surge of 6% compared to the same period in 2019. Imports... more